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Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Today’s Royal Events

• Unofficial Royalty: Monaco – Saint Dévote’s Day (January 27)

January 27, 1708 – Birth of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, daughter of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia and Catherine I, Empress of All Russia, mother of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia in Moscow, Russia
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna was one of three of the fourteen children of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia to survive childhood. In 1725, Peter the Great died without naming an heir. Some historians speculate that Peter the Great wanted to declare Anne Petrovna as his heir. A coup arranged by Peter’s best friend Prince Alexander Menshikov proclaimed Peter the Great’s second wife (and Anna’s mother) Catherine the ruler of Russia. Later in 1725, Anna Petrovna married Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1728, Anna gave birth to a son named Karl Peter Ulrich. Sadly, Anna died three months later, on May 4, 1728, at the age of 20. Anna’s son Karl Peter Ulrich succeeded her younger sister Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. However, the reign of Peter III lasted only six months. He was deposed by his wife, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who reigned as Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, and then murdered.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia

January 27, 1763 – Death of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in the Free City of Frankfurt, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Castle Church at Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany
In 1711, Anton Ulrich had secretly married Philippine Elisabeth Caesar, a lady-in-waiting to his elder sister. The marriage was morganatic and was met with great disapproval from his family. Anton Ulrich and Philippine Elisabeth had ten children who were not eligible to succeed to the throne. Philippine Elisabeth Caesar died in 1744.  In 1746, Friedrich Wilhelm, Anton Ulrich’s brother who had jointly reigned with him, died, and Anton Ulrich was now the only Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. His relatives had already been discussing the division of Saxe-Meiningen after his death due to the lack of heirs. However, Anton Ulrich married Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal, who was forty-three years younger, and the couple had eight children. After a reign of nearly 17 years, Anton Ulrich died at the age of 76.
Unofficial Royalty: Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

January 27, 1773 – Birth of Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, son of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Augustus Frederick
Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex is infamously known for making two marriages in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. In 1793, a very pregnant Miss Augusta Murray and Mr. Augustus Frederick (the Duke of Sussex) were married. Augusta gave birth to a son a month later.The marriage greatly angered King George III and it was declared null and void in August 1794. Despite this, Augustus and Augusta continued to live together. Another child, a daughter was born in 1801. The two illegitimate children used the last name D’Este as both their parents were descendants of the House of Este. After Augusta died in 1830, Augustus married again in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, to a widow, Lady Cecilia Buggin. Because marriage was not considered legal, Cecilia could not take the style and title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, so instead, she assumed the surname Underwood, her mother’s maiden name, and was known as Lady Cecilia Underwood. The couple lived at Augustus’ apartments in Kensington Palace. Despite all of this, Augustus was respected by his niece Queen Victoria. He was given the honor of giving her away at her wedding. As a token of her gratitude, Queen Victoria created Augustus’ wife Cecilia Duchess of Inverness in her own right in 1840.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex

January 27, 1805 – Birth of Maria Anna of Bavaria (twin sister of Sophie Friederike below), Queen of Saxony, 2nd wife of King Friedrich August II of Saxony, in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Maria Anna Leopoldine Elisabeth Wilhelmine
In 1833, Maria Anna, a daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, married Crown Prince Friedrich August of Saxony but they had no children. Three years later, she became Queen of Saxony upon her husband’s accession to the throne. Maria Anna founded a women’s association to help combat the famines plaguing parts of Saxony. This association continued to exist until the early 1930s.  In 1854, King Friedrich August II was killed in an accident while traveling in Tyrol, Austria. She survived her husband by 23 years, dying at the age of 72.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony

January 27, 1805 – Birth of Sophie Friederike of Bavaria (twin sister of Maria Anna above), Archduchess of Austria, wife of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, mother of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I and great-grandmother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, in Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Full name: Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine
The daughter of the first King of Bavaria, Maximilian I Joseph, Sophie was the mother of two emperors: Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I, and the great-grandmother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria.  Sophie never recovered from the 1867 execution of her son Maximilian and she withdrew from public life.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

January 27, 1836 – Death of Wilhelmine of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine wife of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried in the Altes Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
In 1804, Wilhelmine married her first cousin, the future Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, and they had five children including Prince Alexander whose morganatic marriage created the Battenberg/Mountbatten family, and Marie who married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Wilhelmine’s marriage was never happy, and she separated from her husband after the birth of their first three children. Wilhelmine had a large garden built on a hill in Darmstadt called the Rosenhöhe. She added several buildings, including a summer residence and a tea house. When her daughter Elisabeth died, Wilhelmine had a mausoleum called the Rosenhöhe built in the park instead of using the traditional grand ducal tomb in the Darmstadt Stadtkirche. The Rosenhöhe became the traditional burial site for the Grand Ducal Family.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

January 27, 1844 – Death of Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg, third wife of Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg, after delivering her third child, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg
Cecilia was not yet two years old when her father was deposed as King of Sweden in 1809. The family moved to Baden, and her parents divorced three years later. Cecilia met her future husband. Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg stopped in Baden during his travels, and within just an hour of conversation, he asked for her hand in marriage. Cecilia then moved to Vienna, where her brother was serving in the court of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. There, on May 5, 1831, Cecilia and August were married. Cecilia died on January 27, 1844, just days after giving birth to her youngest son.
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

January 27, 1859 – Birth of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia,  at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht
A grandson of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm was the last German Emperor and the last King of Prussia. In 1881, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. The couple had six sons and one daughter. Wilhelm was very militaristic and wanted to increase the strength of Germany’s armed forces, particularly the German Imperial Navy which he wanted to be the equal of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy. Although Wilhelm appeared to have some doubts after the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Serbia, Wilhelm incited Austria-Hungary to take revenge against Serbia for the assassination. Events worsened throughout July 1914 resulting in the beginning of World War I in August 1914. Years before the start of World War I, Germany had developed the Schlieffen Plan, a one-front war-winning offensive against France which was the thinking behind the German invasion of France and Belgium on August 4, 1914. After the German Empire’s loss, Wilhelm abdicated on November 9, 1918. A day later, he crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands, never to return to Germany. Wilhelm purchased Huis Doorn, a small manor house outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia

January 27, 1958 – Death of Prince Oskar of Prussia, son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, in Munich, Germany; buried at Hohenzollern Castle, in Bisingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
In 1914, Oskar married Countess Ina-Marie von Bassewitz. As the marriage was considered morganatic, the bride could not take her husband’s style and title. Instead, four days before the wedding, Ina-Marie was created Countess von Ruppin. The couple had four children. Several years later, in November 1919, the marriage was decreed dynastic, and Ina-Marie and her children were elevated to HRH Prince/Princess of Prussia as of June 1920. From 1926 until he died in 1958, Oskar served as Master of Knights of the Johanniterorden (Order of Saint John), an ancient order that has been a favorite of the Hohenzollerns. He is credited with saving the order from extinction at the hands of the Nazi regime. Prince Oskar suffered from declining health for the last few years of his life and died of stomach cancer in a clinic in Munich, Germany on January 27, 1958, at the age of 69.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Oskar of Prussia

January 27, 1971 – Death of Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, in Ballenstedt, Germany; buried in the Mausoleum Garden at Schloss Bückeburg, the traditional burial site of the Princely Family of Schaumburg-Lippe, in Bückeburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
In 1898,  Adelheid married the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and the couple had four children. In 1908, Adelheid became the last Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg when her husband succeeded his father as Duke. Their reign, however, would be relatively short-lived. Her husband was forced to abdicate on November 13, 1918, when the German Empire was abolished. Following the abdication, Adelheid felt that she no longer had to endure her husband’s affairs and the shame it brought to her marriage. The couple separated and was divorced on January 17, 1920. After remaining mostly out of the public eye for the rest of her life, Adelheid died in Ballenstedt, East Germany, on January 27, 1971, at the age of 95.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg

January 27, 2001 – Death of Queen Marie José of  Italy, born Marie José of Belgium, wife of King Umberto II of Italy, in Geneva, Switzerland; buried at the Cistercian Abbey of Hautecombe in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille, France
Marie José was the youngest child and only daughter of Albert I, King of the Belgians and Elisabeth in Bavaria. She married Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, Prince of Piedmont, the son of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy. After World War II, King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated on May 9, 1946. Marie José and her husband became the new King and Queen of Italy, however, their reign was short-lived. A referendum was held on June 2, 1946,  with the majority voting to abolish the monarchy. Accepting the people’s will, Umberto and Marie José left Italy on June 13, 1946, and were barred under the terms of the new constitution from returning to Italian soil. They settled in Portugal, but soon separated, with Marie José and her children then living in Switzerland. In 1992, she sold her home in Switzerland and spent the next few years living with her daughter Marie-Béatrice in Mexico. She returned to Switzerland in 1996, and on January 27, 2001, 94-year-old Queen Marie José of Italy passed away in Geneva, Switzerland
Unofficial Royalty: Marie José of Belgium, Queen of Italy

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© Unofficial Royalty 2025

King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

January 26, 1763 – Birth of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway, born Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte in Pau, France
King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway was born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte in Pau, France. He joined the military and quickly stood out for his courage and leadership. During the French Revolution, he rose quickly through the ranks, attaining the rank of Brigadier General in 1794. In 1798, he married Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, whose sister Julie Clary was married to Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Désirée had previously been engaged to Napoleon. Jean and Désirée had one son, the future King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte. In 1804, Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France and appointed Bernadotte as a Marshal of France. In 1810, just as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was about to start a new position as governor of Rome, the Swedish Riksdag elected him heir to the childless King Carl XIII of Sweden. In 1814, as Crown Prince of Sweden, Bernadotte was actively involved in the events leading up to the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, in which Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Bernadotte became king in 1818 upon the death of King Carl XIII of Sweden/King Karl II of Norway. Bernadotte reigned as King Karl III Johan of Norway and as King Carl XIV Johan in Sweden where he started the House of Bernadotte which still reigns in Sweden.
Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden/King Karl III Johan of Norway

January 26, 1876 – Death of Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil, second wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil/King Pedro IV of Portugal, in Lisbon, Portugal; buried first in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, since 1982 buried in the Ipiranga monument in São Paulo, Brazil
Amélie was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais (son of Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, from her first marriage) and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Because of a political and economic crisis, her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicated his throne in favor of a daughter from his first marriage. Pedro, Amélie, and their daughter Maria Amélie returned to Portugal. Both Pedro and his daughter Maria Amélie died from tuberculosis.  Amélie financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira in Portugal called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. After Amélie died at the age of 60 in Lisbon, Portugal, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.
Unofficial Royalty: Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

January 26, 1947 – Death of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, eldest son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and father of King Carl XVI Gustaf, in a commercial airplane crash at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen; buried at the Royal Cemetery at Haga Park in Solna, Sweden
Prince Gustaf Adolf was the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and would have himself become King of Sweden had he not died tragically in an airplane crash at the age of 40. In 1931, Gustaf Adolf married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the daughter of Prince Carl Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a grandson of Queen Victoria. The couple had four daughters and one son, the future King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in a commercial airplane crash on January 26, 1947, at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen. He was returning from a hunting trip and a visit to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The plane had landed at Kastrup for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. After taking off, the plane climbed to an altitude of only 150 feet, stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded upon impact. All 22 people aboard the plane were killed. Gustaf Adolf’s only son, nine-month-old Carl Gustaf, became second in the line of succession and would succeed his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, in 1973.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

January 25, 1477 – Birth of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, wife of King Charles VIII of France and second wife of King Louis XII of France, at the Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France
Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, is the only woman to have been Queen Consort of France twice. She was the wife of King Charles VIII and the second of the three wives of King Louis XII. Anne was the daughter of François II, Duke of Brittany. When her father died in 1488, Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. In 1491, Anne married King Charles VIII of France. Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived. King Charles VIII died unexpectedly from a head injury in 1498. Because he had no surviving children, Louis, Duke of Orléans succeeded him as King Louis XII of France. Anne returned to Brittany and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and so he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled and married Anne of Brittany in 1499. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old King Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XII died three months after the marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France

January 25, 1559 – Death of King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in captivity at Kalundborg Castle in Denmark; buried at Saint Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
Nicknamed Christian the Tyrant, Christian II was King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523 and also King of Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was the joint ruler of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with his paternal uncle Frederik, the future King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway. In 1523, Christian II was forced to abdicate and was exiled. After trying to reclaim the throne in 1531, Christian was imprisoned, first in Sønderborg Castle and then at Kalundborg Castle, for the last twenty-seven years of his life. He died at Kalundborg Castle at the age of 77.
Unofficial Royalty: King Christian II of Denmark

January 25, 1661 – Birth of Prince Antonio I of Monaco in Paris, France
Antonio I, Prince of Monaco was the elder of the two sons and the eldest of the six children of Louis I, Prince of Monaco. In 1688, Antonio married Marie of Lorraine, the daughter of Louis of Lorraine, Count of Armagnac. Antonio and Marie had six daughters but only two survived to adulthood.  In 1701, when his father died, Antonio became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. He reigned for thirty years until he died on February 20, 1731, at the age of 70. Antonio I was succeeded by his eldest daughter Louise Hippolyte who had a very short reign of ten months. She died from smallpox at the age of 34, on December 29, 1731.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Antonio I of Monaco

January 25, 1755 – Birth of Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia, first wife of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, in Prenzlau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Full name: Wilhelmine Luise
The daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1773, Wilhelmine married Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia), the son and heir of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. After her marriage, she was known as Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna. After two-plus years of marriage, Natalia became pregnant. Sadly, she died at the age of 20 after six days of agonizing labor. Her child, a son, also died.
Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia

January 25, 1858 – Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria, and the future Friedrich III, German Emperor at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace in London, England
Victoria, Princess Royal and Prince Friedrich of Prussia, the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, became engaged on September 29, 1855, but the engagement was not publicly announced until May 17, 1856. Because Vicky was so young, her parents decreed that the wedding would have to wait until Vicky was 17-years-old. They were married at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London, England on January 25, 1858. The couple had eight children and the Greek, Prussian, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish royal families descended from this marriage.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia

January 25, 1900 – Death of Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, in Dresden, Kingdom of Prussia; buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Przemków, Poland
Adelheid’s mother was Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the elder half-sister of Queen Victoria, and therefore Adelheid was Queen Victoria’s niece. In 1856, Adelheid married the future Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. They had seven children including Princess Auguste Viktoria who married Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Soon after her husband died in 1880, and her eldest daughter’s marriage in early 1881, Adelheid retired from public life, settling in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, where she spent her time painting and enjoying the arts. She died on January 25, 1900, in Dresden at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

January 25, 1978 – Birth of Princess Charlene of Monaco, wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco, born Charlene Lynette Wittstock in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe
Charlene competed for the South African national swimming team. In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she competed in the 4 X 100-meter medley and the team came in fifth place. She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but could not due to a shoulder injury. In June 2000 at the Marenostrum International Swimming Meet in Monaco, Charlene first met Prince Albert II of Monaco who presided over the meet. Prince Albert was also an Olympian having competed in bobsledding in five Winter Olympics. For the next five years, the couple periodically dated privately. At the Opening Ceremonies for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, their relationship became public. Charlene and Albert married in a civil ceremony on July 1, 2011, in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace, and then in a religious ceremony on July 2, 2011, in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace. Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have two children, boy and girl twins.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlene of Monaco

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King Gustav II of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

January 24, 1712 – Birth of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia at the Berlin City Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
King Friedrich II of Prussia, best known as Frederick the Great, was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. In 1733, Friedrich married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, but they spent most of their lives separated, seeing each other only a handful of times after he became King. They had no children, and upon becoming King in 1740, Friedrich named his brother Augustus as Crown Prince. Augustus predeceased Friedrich so his son succeeded as King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Aside from his promotion of the arts, Friedrich proved himself a skilled military commander and made great advancements in his kingdom.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia

January 24, 1724 – Birth of Sophie Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Ernst Friedrich of Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in Wolfenbüttel, in the Principality of Wolfenbüttel, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Sophia Antonia was the wife of Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the great-grandmother of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. She had connections to several royal families. She was the paternal aunt of Ivan VI, Emperor of All Russia, first cousin of Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, and first cousin of Peter II, Emperor of All Russia. Because she was related to many royal families, Sophie Antonia was considered as a bride for several princes. However, she was not considered attractive, causing many marriage negotiations to fail. In 1749, she married Ernst Friedrich, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The couple had seven children but only three survived childhood.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophie Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

January 24, 1746 – Birth of King Gustav III of Sweden at the Wrangel Palace on Riddarholmen islet in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden
King Gustav III of Sweden is best known for being mortally wounded during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden, and dying thirteen days later. The incident was the subject of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball). Gustav was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. In 1766, Gustav married Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and the couple had one surviving son. Gustav became King of Sweden upon the death of his father in 1771. In 1772, Gustav arranged for a coup d’état known as the Revolution of 1772 or Coup of Gustav III. The coup d’état reinstated an absolute monarchy and ended parliamentary rule. The Russo-Sweden War and the implementation of the Union and Security Act in 1789, which gave the king more power and abolished many of the privileges of the nobility, contributed to the increasing hatred of Gustav III, which had existed among the nobility since the 1772 coup. In the winter of 1791-1792, a conspiracy was formed within the nobility to kill the king and reform the government. Read more about the assassination in the link below.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav III of Sweden
Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Gustav III, King of Sweden

January 24, 1779 – Birth of Louise of Baden, wife of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia, in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Full name: Louise Maria Auguste, known as Elizabeth Alexeievna after marriage
Louise was the daughter of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Amelia Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt. Louise, herself an empress, had seven siblings including two queens, a grand duchess, a duchess, and a grand duke. Collectively, Louise’s siblings are ancestors of several royal families. In 1793, Louise married the future Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia. Both Elizabeth Alexeievna and her husband had affairs and their marriage produced no surviving children.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise of Baden, Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia

January 24, 1840 – Birth of Julia Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Born The Honorable Julia Haldane-Duncan, she was the eldest child of Adam Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Earl of Camperdown, and married George Abercromby, 4th Baron Abercromby. She was an accomplished painter and had taken lessons from Mrs. Clarendon Smith of the Institute of Watercolours. During her service, Julia was asked to paint the first official portrait of Queen Victoria for the National Portrait Gallery, fulfilling a request made by the gallery in 1867. She painted a watercolor portrait, based on an original painting by von Angeli. It was one of Queen Victoria’s favorite portraits of herself. In later years, she exhibited some of her work at the Royal Academy in 1898. Today, her paintings are included in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Balliol College, Oxford, and the Britannia Royal Naval College.
Unofficial Royalty: Julia Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby

January 24, 1904 – Death of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt in Ballenstedt, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; first buried in the Dessau Mausoleum in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1958, his remains, along with the other former royals in the Dessau Mausoleum, were moved secretly by night for political reasons (Dessau was then in Communist East Germany) to an unmarked mass grave in the Ziebigk Cemetery in Dessau. In 2019, Friedrich’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche in Dessau, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau dating back to the 15th century. The Marienkirche was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt.
In 1854, Friedrich married Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. They had six children including two Dukes of Anhalt. Before he became Duke of Anhalt, Friedrich had a military career. He served on the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, during the Second Schleswig War and during the Franco-Prussian War, taking part in the Siege of Toul and battles at Beaumont and Sedan. In January 1871, he was present at the Palace of Versailles for the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as the German Emperor. The day after suffering a stroke, Friedrich, aged 73, died in Ballenstedt, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on January 24, 1904.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt

January 24, 1924 – Death of former Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg at Hohenburg Castle in Bavaria, Germany; buried at Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Marie-Adélaïde was the eldest of the six daughters of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg. At the time, female succession was not allowed in Luxembourg but Grand Duke Guillaume IV changed that. In 1912, when her father died, Marie-Adélaïde became the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. In the early days of World War I, Germany violated the neutral stance of Luxembourg and invaded the country. Marie-Adélaïde issued a formal protest, but this did not prevent the military occupation by Germany. Marie-Adélaïde developed a rather friendly relationship with the Germans, including hosting German Emperor Wilhelm II at the palace. This led to her unpopularity in Luxembourg and to her abdication in favor of her sister Charlotte on January 14, 1919. After her abdication, Marie-Adélaïde entered a Carmelite convent in Modena, Italy. Eventually, she became a nun, joining the Little Sisters of the Poor in Rome, taking the name Sister Marie of the Poor. Her health began to worsen so she left the convent and settled at Hohenburg Castle in Bavaria, Germany where she died of influenza on January 24, 1924, at the age of 29.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg

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Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

January 23, 1516 – Death of King Ferdinand II of Aragon in Madrigalejo, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain; buried in the Royal Chapel in the Cathedral of Granada in Spain
Ferdinand was the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile and the father of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. He was the king of Aragon from 1479 until he died in 1516. As the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also the king of Castile from 1475 to 1504 (as Ferdinand V). He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain and together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs.
Unofficial Royalty: King Ferdinand II of Aragon

January 23, 1688 – Birth of Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden at Stockholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
The daughter of Karl XI, King of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden, in her own right, succeeded her unmarried brother Karl XII, King of Sweden in 1718 and reigned for two years before abdicating in favor of her husband Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel who reigned as Fredrik I, King of Sweden. Ulrika and her husband had no children. After Ulrika abdicated, although she had an interest in affairs of state, she withdrew from all visible participation in them, occupying herself with reading, charity, and her many friends. Ulrika Eleonora died from smallpox at the age of 53. Her husband Fredrik I, King of Sweden survived her by ten years.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

January 23, 1820 – Death of Edward, Duke of Kent, son of King George III of the United Kingdom and father of Queen Victoria, at Sidmouth, Devon, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
Edward was the fourth son and the fifth of the fifteen children of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Julie de Montgenêt de Saint-Laurent was his mistress from 1790 – 1818 and accompanied him wherever he went until he married. In November 1817, the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, necessitated the marriages of the unmarried sons of George III to provide an heir to the throne. Edward’s mistress Julie is said to have read the news of Edward’s engagement in the newspaper while seated at the breakfast table and reacted with violent hysterics. Edward was genuinely attached to her and deeply upset at their forced separation. On May 29, 1818, 50-year-old Edward married 32-year-old Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The future Queen Victoria, their only child, was born at Kensington Palace on May 24, 1819.  Toward the end of 1819, Edward leased Woolbrook Cottage in Sidmouth, a town on the English Channel, due to the need to economize. In early January, Edward caught a cold and within days, the cold worsened, he became feverish and delirious and developed pneumonia. His condition was aggravated by the bleeding and cupping. Edward became increasingly weaker and died on January 23, 1820, just six days before his father, King George III died.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent

January 23, 1874 – Wedding of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg  and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
During a family holiday in 1868 in Hesse, Alfred and Maria first met. They met again in 1871 and 1873 when Alfred proposed. Despite the misgivings of Maria’s parents and Alfred’s mother, the couple was married on January 23, 1874, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Upon their return to London, they took up residence at Clarence House in London, and Eastwell Park in Kent, which they leased until 1893.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg  and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia

January 23, 1891 – Death of Prince Baudouin of Belgium at the Palace of the Count of Flanders in Brussels; buried at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken
Baudouin was the son of Philippe, Count of Flanders, the second son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. He was considered the heir of his uncle Leopold II, King of the Belgians who had no living male heirs. In early 1891, Baudouin became ill with influenza that had made its way through most of his family members. He likely caught the illness from his sister Henriette, whom he insisted on visiting during her illness despite warnings from doctors. Although at first, he appeared to be weathering the illness better than his sister, Baudouin’s condition suddenly deteriorated on January 22, 1891. He died early the following morning at the age of 21. The country of Belgium was plunged into mourning for their promising prince. Parliament was adjourned, theaters and libraries were closed, and mourning was ordered until the beginning of the spring. His younger brother later became Albert I, King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Baudouin of Belgium

January 23, 1896 – Birth of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg at Berg Castle in Luxembourg
Full name: Charlotte Adelgonde Élise/Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine
Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg was the sovereign from January 14, 1919, until November 12, 1964, when she abdicated in favor of her son Jean. During World War II, Germany invaded Luxembourg, and Charlotte and her family spent most of the war in the United States. Charlotte returned to her homeland, and the family took up residence at Fischbach Castle, which had suffered significantly less damage than the other royal properties, Berg Castle and the Grand Ducal Palace. Her focus became rebuilding Luxembourg and bringing the tiny nation to a more prominent profile in Europe. Through the remainder of her reign, she entertained world leaders and paid visits to many others. Her efforts to gain Luxembourg a place on the world’s stage were successful.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg

January 21, 1923 – Birth of Prince Andrew Romanov in London, England
Andrew was the son of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia and his first wife Duchess Elisabetta Sasso-Ruffo Di Sant Antimo from the Italian noble House of Ruffo di Calabria. Andrew’s paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia (grandson of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia) and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and sister of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia). Known as Andrew Romanoff after he came to the United States in 1949, he was one of the disputed pretenders to the Headship of the Russian Imperial Family from 2016 to 2021.
Unofficial Royalty: Andrew Romanoff, born Prince Andrew Romanov

January 23, 1952 – Death of Natalia Sergeyevna Sheremetyevskaya, Countess Brasova, morganatic wife of Grand Duke Michael of Russia, son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, at the Laënnec, a charity hospital in Paris, France; buried in Passy Cemetery in Paris, France
Natalia was the lover and then the morganatic wife of Grand Duke Michael of Russia, brother of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. After the birth of a son named George after Michael’s deceased brother, Natalia and her first husband were divorced. Nicholas II issued a decree giving George the surname Brasov after Michael’s estate at Brasov, granted Natalia permission to use the surname Brasova, and allowed her to live with Michael at his estate Brasovo.  When Michael and Natalia were secretly married without Nicholas II’s permission, Nicholas stripped Michael of his military rank, froze all his assets in Russia, seized control of his estates, and banished him from Russia. Eventually, Michael was allowed to return to Russia, his son George was legitimized and created Count Brasov but neither he nor his descendants could be in the line of succession. At the same time, Natalia was created Countess Brasova. Michael and his secretary were killed during the Russian Revolution and their bodies were never found. Natalia, her daughter from her first marriage, and her son George escaped Russia. Natalia used money in Michael’s bank accounts in Paris and Copenhagen and started selling her jewelry. George died in a car accident at the age of 20. By the time World War II started, Natalia was nearly broke and living in a one-room attic apartment in Paris. In 1951, Natalia found out she had cancer and her landlady evicted her. She was taken to the Laënnec, a charity hospital in Paris, France, where she died on January 23, 1952, at the age of 71.
Unofficial Royalty: Natalia Sergeyevna Sheremetyevskaya, Countess Brasova

January 23, 1957 – Birth of Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco
Full name: Caroline Louise Marguerite
Caroline is the eldest of the three children of Rainier II, Prince of Monaco and Grace Kelly. In 1978, she married Philippe Junot, a Frenchman seventeen years her elder. The marriage ended in divorce in 1980. In 1983, Caroline married Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi. Tragically, Stefano was killed in a speedboat accident in 1990 just off the coast of Monaco. The couple had three children. In January 1999, on her birthday, Caroline married Prince Ernst August of Hanover. Ernst August is the pretender to the throne of the former Kingdom of Hanover. While initially very happy, the couple now leads separate lives. Caroline and their daughter live primarily in Monaco, while her husband lives at his homes in Germany. Caroline regularly attends important social events in Monaco related to the Monégasque Princely Family. Due to her commitment to philanthropy and arts, Caroline was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2003.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover

January 23, 1998 – Death of Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Head of the Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and titular Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1954 until his death, in a hospital in Amstetten, Austria, buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany.
The Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1954 until he died in 1998, Friedrich Josias was born just three weeks after his father Charles Edward was deposed as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha after the end of World War I. Through his father, Friedrich Josias was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. In 1942, Friedrich Josias married his first cousin Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth The couple divorced in 1946 but they had one son who succeeded his father as the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. During World War II, Friedrich Josias was an adjutant to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who was in charge of the German campaign in North Africa, and on the staff of General Hermann von Hanneken, the supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark. In May 1945, Friedrich Josias was captured by British forces in Denmark and remained in captivity until he was released that autumn when he returned to Coburg. In 1948, Friedrich Josias married  Denyse Henriette de Muralt  The couple divorced in 1964 and had three children. He made a third marriage in 1964 to Katrin Bremme but they had no children. During the last years of his life, Friedrich Josias was in ill health and his son Andreas took over many of his duties. He died on January 23, 1998, in a hospital in Amstetten, Austria at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Friedrich Josias  of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

January 23, 2015 – Death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, buried at the Al-Oud Cemetary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was proclaimed the sixth King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on August 1, 2005, upon the death of his half-brother King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. Throughout his life, King Abdullah had a love of the desert and a love of horsemanship. He was a breeder of pure Arabian horses and the founder of the equestrian club in Riyadh. Another lifelong passion is reading which he considered very important. He established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca, Morocco. King Abdullah died on January 23, 2015, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the age of 90, three weeks after being hospitalized for pneumonia. He was succeeded by his 79-year-old half-brother Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Unofficial Royalty: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.